Game Day Chat: #2 Notre Dame vs Syracuse Orange
The second-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Syracuse Orange as the Fighting Irish look to earn their second undefeated regular season in the last three years.
Irish Breakdown will have all the latest news, updates and analysis from the game. Stay locked onto this page for in-game analysis, any news that breaks and at the bottom of the page you can join other Notre Dame fans in a game-day chat.
4:55 PM - The Irish defense gets it back on the very next play as DE Adetokunbo Ogundeji strips Syracuse quarterback Rex Culpepper from behind. The ball was recovered by LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
4:54 PM - On the second play of the next drive, Book is picked off as the Irish turn it over on the second straight drive. Book had Davis open on a post route but the throw was severely under-thrown. It was a poor read by the Irish quarterback.
4:48 PM - The Irish defense forces a fumble on the first drive, but the Irish offense gave it right back on a muffed snap between Book and center Joshua Lugg. Going under center was a mistake with a guy taking his first ever snaps at center.
The defense responds by giving up a quick 5-play, 57-yard scoring drive capped off by a 40-yard touchdown run by Sean Tucker. A bad fill by Simon, a misfit (thanks to a poor angle) by Kyle Hamilton and missed tackles by Shaun Crawford and Nick McCloud played into the scoring run.
ND leads 24-14 against 1-9 Syracuse, who has already surpassed its season average of rushing yards per game.
FIRST HALF ANALYSIS
OFFENSE
The first half was a sloppy one on both sides of the ball, but the offense was especially sloppy. The Irish line struggled to get much movement in the run game, and it gave up too much ground in pass protection, especially up the middle.
On the outside, the receivers outside of Javon McKinley have been inconsistent getting open. McKinley had an early drop but he dominated late in the second half. He caught three straight passes on Notre Dame's first touchdown drive, had a 21-yard catch-and-run on the next series and had a great one-on-one catch for a 28-yard touchdown late in the half to give the Irish the lead.
Running back Kyren Williams has been rushing reads all game long and hasn't played well for the Irish so far. He's making plays in the pass game, which is helping to overcome his poor decision making as a runner.
Quarterback Ian Book played average ball for the first 25 minutes of the first half. He was uncomfortable in the pocket, had several underthrown passes and was just off target too much. Book was rushing through his reads, missed several open players and stepped into too much pressure.
In the final five minutes he played much, much better. After Syracuse gave the Irish a first-down on what was supposed to be an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-10, the Irish offense woke up and Book woke up. He made two big plays with his legs and started attacking down the field a bit more after the majority of the first half was conservative from a play-calling and execution standpoint after the early Wilkins drop.
McKinley made a great play on the final touchdown but Book also put the ball where his wideout could make a play. That was missing from his game for much of the first half, and Book getting back to his recent-game form allowed the Irish to pull ahead.
DEFENSE
The defense played sloppy football as well, but like the offense woke up late in the half. Syracuse picked on cornerback Clarence Lewis for much of the half, and early on Syracuse took advantage of Notre Dame's soft coverage. A more accurate passer would have done even more damage.
Syracuse ran the ball surprisingly well considering how bad they are at it and how good Notre Dame has been at stopping it this season. There seemed to be several assignment mistakes, because the Irish defense allowed the A gaps to be open far, far too often. It seemed the inside backers weren't attacking downhill well enough.
The front four heated up in the second quarter, led by DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, DE Adetokunbo Ogundeji and freshman DT Rylie Mills. LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah also had a big half for the Irish.
As the front four started to get more of a push and pressure it resulted in Syracuse missing more and more throws, which helped the defense get off the field. MTA's forced fumble really broke the game open by giving the Irish a short field to turn a 10-7 game quickly into a 17-7 game.
4:14 PM - Notre Dame was down 7-3 with about six minutes left in the half. After Syracuse committed a roughing penalty on an Irish third-down the Irish steamrolled the Orange.
4:12 PM - Javon McKinley makes a great one-on-one catch for his second touchdown of the game as the Irish quickly jump out to a 24-7 lead just before halftime.
4:05 PM - Defense forces a quick three-and-out to give the offense the ball with about :38 left in the opening half.
3:59 PM - DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa forces a fumble with Syracuse and the Irish get the ball deep in Syracuse territory. The Irish offense responds on the very next play as Javon McKinley caught a short pass and then worked free after the catch for a 21-yard touchdown. Notre Dame now leads 17-7.
3:48 PM - Notre Dame takes advantage of a Syracuse third-down penalty to re-take the lead. Notre Dame was about to go three-and-out, but a roughing the passer penalty gave the Irish a first-down. Book followed up with a drag throw to Tommy Tremble for 18-yards and hit McKinley on a hitch on the next play. Book took off and scrambled for a 28-yard touchdown to put the Irish up 10-7.
3:43 PM - Irish defense answers with a quick three-and-out. DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa had a first down stuff to start the series. That was followed by back-to-back breakups, first by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and then by Ovie Oghoufo.
3:38 PM - Notre Dame turns it over on downs. Three straight completions from Book to McKinley got the Irish in SU territory, but a bad read on third-down from running back Kyren Williams resulted in a 1-yard gain, and on fourth-down Mayer caught the ball near the first-down marker, but then jumped back to make a defender miss and ultimately got tackled behind the line.
3:35 PM - Right guard Tommy Kraemer is in the game at right guard, which Brian Kelly said would only happen in an emergency situation.
3:29 PM - Syracuse takes a 7-3 lead in the second quarter on an 18-yard touchdown pass. Cornerback Nick McCloud tried to play the throw but missed, and that allowed Taj Harris to break free for an 18-yard score. Syracuse converted three third-downs on the drive. Syracuse also picked on freshman CB Clarence Lewis on the drive, completing three passes against him on the drive, including a 3rd-and-8 that went for 15 yards.
3:21 PM - Second straight punt for the Notre Dame offense. A low snap and missed block by Aaron Banks threw off the second down read and then Book rushed through his progressions and didn't see Avery Davis coming open over the middle. He scrambled and threw it over Mayer's head to force a punt.
3:15 PM - Quarter one ends with Notre Dame leading just 3-0. Irish are playing sloppy and uninspired ball right now, especially on offense. Receivers/tight ends are coming open late, or not at all, and Book isn't working through his reads very well. Syracuse is attacking the ND front and it's working so far.
3:11 PM - Syracuse again moves the ball into Notre Dame territory, this time on a third-down completion that went for 37 yards on a blown coverage by the Irish. Syracuse was forced to punt after freshman DT Rylie Mills came up with a great stop behind the line on a 2nd-and-10, which threw off the SU drive and ultimately led to a punt. Mills destroyed the guard off the ball and brought the back down behind the line. Best play of the year from the promising freshman.
3:04 PM - Another sloppy series by the Irish offense ends with a punt. McKinley couldn't get open on a second-down deep shot and Book didn't see Avery Davis come open on his secondary read, so he scramabled. On third-down, tight end Michael Mayer ran his stick route short of the first down marker, which is why he was tackled short on third-down.
The Irish line is getting very little movement in the run game, and LT Liam Eichenberg has been beaten twice so far on run plays.
2:58 PM - Sloppy start for Notre Dame on both sides of the ball. On offense, two underthrown passes fell incomplete, limiting a big play and then eliminating a touchdown. QB Ian Book underthrew Joe Wilkins on a post route and was off target to Javon McKinley in the end zone. While both balls were underthrown, both hit receivers in the hands and need to get caught. The Irish had to settle for a field goal on drive one.
On defense, Notre Dame benefitted from two bad balls by Syracuse QB Rex Culpepper, which allowed the Irish to force a punt, but SU got into ND territory with the pass game. The Irish were playing a lot of off coverage and giving up throws. LB Shayne Simon was also incredibly hesitant on a 3rd-down wheel route that converted a third-down.
2:39 PM - Notre Dame will start the game with the ball. Syracuse won the toss and deferred.
2:10 PM - The first team offensive line is LT Liam Eichenberg, LG Aaron Banks, C Joshua Lugg, RG Dillan Gibbons and RT Robert Hainsey.
1:52 PM - During warm ups, Zeke Correll was snapping to Brendon Clark and it was Joshua Lugg snapping to Ian Book. Could mean Lugg is getting the center start today with Correll questionable all week with an ankle injury.
1:12 PM Update
Before the game starts be sure to get caught up on all the pre-game analysis.
Notre Dame Depth Chart
Syracuse Depth Chart
First Glance: Syracuse Orange - Breaking down the Syracuse season results and statistical leaders.
Syracuse At First Glance: Names To Know - Offense
Syracuse At First Glance: Names To Know - Defense
Stacking Up: Notre Dame Offense vs. Syracuse - Breaking down how the Notre Dame offense stacks up on paper against the Syracuse defense.
Stacking Up: Notre Dame Defense vs. Syracuse - Breaking down how the Notre Dame defense stacks up on paper against the Syracuse offense.
Keys To Success: Notre Dame vs. Syracuse
Midweek Musings - Syracuse Edition - Matchups to watch, biggest concerns for the Irish in this contest, stats to keep an eye on and players that must step up to ensure victory.
WSBT: Talking ACC Championship, College Football Playoff, Clark Lea, ND Run Game and More
Podcast: Notre Dame vs. Syracuse Preview - Publisher Bryan Driskell and football analyst Vince DeDario preview the Notre Dame vs. Syracuse matchup.
Podcast: Opponent Insider - Football analyst Vince DeDario interviews Mike McAllister of AllSyracuse.
Game Prediction: Notre Dame vs. Syracuse - The Irish Breakdown staff make their picks for the Irish/Orange matchup.
Javon McKinley's Emergence Has Sparked The ND Offense
Notre Dame Offensive Line Set For More Shuffling
Notre Dame Set To Continue Historic Home Win Streak
Notre Dame Coaches Leave Farewell Messages For Seniors
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